NASA’s InSight lander sends back first selfie on Red Planet

Washington: NASA’s InSight lander, which touched the Mars surface two weeks ago, has sent back its first selfie on the Red Planet taken by using the spacecraft’s robotic arm, the US space agency said.

The InSight probe landed at the Elysium Planitia on Mars on November 26, kicking off a two-year mission to explore the deep interior of the Red Planet.

On December 6, the InSight lander used a camera on its giant robotic arm to take its first selfie— a mosaic made up of 11 images. The image includes the lander’s solar panel and its entire deck, including its science instruments, weather sensor booms, and UHF antenna, NASA said today.

In addition, InSight sent another set of mosaic composed of 52 individual photos.

It showcases the first complete look of “workspace”— the approximately 14-by-7-foot (4-by-2-metre) crescent of terrain directly in front of the spacecraft –, where the spacecraft’s instruments such as seismometer and heat-flow probe can be placed.